Bengagement!

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with our radio. We are back in better than ever. Hello,
almost Famous fans. I'm Ben, I'm Ashley, and you guys,
we are here for the Ben is Engaged edition of
this podcast. Can you I mean yes, we can believe?

(00:24):
I was gonna say, can you believe? It's like this
was honestly the most obvious engagement to me that's ever happened.
Like I've never seen two people more perfect, more in
love and ready for an engagement than you too. Yes.
So this is the very first time Ashley I'll be
speaking in detail. I spoke with Et and Lauren's sema

(00:45):
because she's a good friend. But this podcast today is
going to be all about the details, similar to what
I did with Lauren um on our engagement. But Jessica
and I are just ecstatic and I'm glad that you
think it wasn't a surprise and it wasn't shocking because
it wasn't to me either. It's I've known this for
a long time. It was just trying to get the

(01:06):
timing right. Yeah, And speaking of chiming, you didn't exactly
plan to propose during um COVID nineteen and you had
a whole different plan. I was aware of it, but
our audience wasn't. Are you willing to talk about how
you plan to do it and how you came to
the decision to just do it during quarantine? Well, Ashley,

(01:31):
I would only say this and talk about this with
our almost famous family. So I am very willing to
talk about it because you all have been there since
the beginning. As I've talked about with Ashley many times.
It's kind of crazy to think how this podcast has
uh been a part of our ups and downs and
stories and trials and tribulations, uh for three over three

(01:53):
years of our life. So so here's the whole idea, uh,
And I'll just start at the beginning, uh into Simber.
I talked to Jessica's dad about Mary and Jessica, and UM,
it was a really, really great conversation in the details.
You're so nervous. I was so nervous, but you know what,
like he made me feel incredible. And there's a very

(02:17):
few moments in life I talked to Jared about this
that are as nerve wracking as sitting down with the
father of a daughter and saying, hey, like I want
to ask her to marry me. Uh, that is a huge,
huge conversation and one that nobody takes lightly. I don't,
or at least you should not take lightly. So we

(02:40):
have this conversation. Tell us all the details. I want
to know everything. You asked him, like your host speel,
well that you know what. I think. The one thing Ashley,
that I will keep private is our conversation. I think
that for the most part um the conversation existed like this.
I asked for permission, he gave me permission, and then

(03:01):
without going into the kind of the things that we
spoke about at that point, then it became his his
not expectations, but my He allowed me the space to
ask him any question. I allowed him the space to
ask me any question, and we discussed what it was
that my like what what what kind of life that
I wanted to help provide to his daughter, and what

(03:25):
our future would look like together, and what my hopes
and dreams were for our family, and what my hopes
and dreams were for Jessica. Um. I think the one
piece of advice that I will share because he has
been incredible with kind of his his ability to lead me,

(03:45):
and this is he said, Hey, once you guys get married,
make sure you do some things for just yourselves, like
get get away, explore, um, enjoy this world, enjoy each other,
enjoy the beauty uh that has gifted us and and
and don't fall back into the comfort of, hey, maybe

(04:05):
being because her full families in Nashville. Uh so, don't
fall back to the comfort of just being around family
all the time. Like go out and do your thing
for a while before you come back to your family. Um.
Which was a huge thing for a father to say.
And I think his or her uh mom and dad
and and brothers have been incredible from the very beginning.

(04:27):
So here's how it went down, though. So I asked
for his permission. He gave me permission. Uh. So then
I started planning the engagement. And if all of you
uh kind of understand, I've been on tour or is
expected to be on tour for The Bachelor, I' on
stage for the last four months, uh and it was
supposed to take me up until really the end of May.

(04:48):
So I thought, well, I don't want to propose to
Jessica on a stage, but I want to do it
in a city that's beautiful, that's compelling, that's romantic and
that's why I had show was in New York City.
We're gonna do on the that stop of the tour.
I was going to propose a Jessica New York City,
but the whole family, right with the whole family. So

(05:08):
my parents are gonna fly in, her parents are gonna
fly in. We're gonna celebrate. But here's the thing, actually, Uh,
when coronavirus hit, Uh, it obviously changed plans drastically and quickly. Um.
And I don't know if I can explain this well,

(05:28):
but there was a timing factor this all that I
wanted to make sure we got done because Jessica's lease
uh is running out at the end of next month. Uh,
that's right, she has to move. She was moving back
in with her parents. I was advising her to do
that because I said, Hey, it's gonna be the best
thing for us and for you, and there's no reason

(05:49):
for you to get a long term lease when we
don't know what our future is gonna hold. The problem is,
and you can expect this is we had stopped all
like intentional conversations about our future really back in December,
because I wanted her to be so shocked for this proposal,
and so any longer that we're going to drag this
on was just gonna get harder and harder on this

(06:12):
woman that I loved and who who was confused and
who I didn't want to be confused any longer. Okay,
So that's kind of the timing here is when March
twenty one changed, it was already getting long enough without
us having those really good, healthy conversations that every couple
I believe should have. So all of a sudden, I
start audibling, like, what are we gonna do? How are

(06:33):
we going to do this? Do I push it back
for another couple of months so that we can make
sure that we do this in a special way. Do I,
um just do it, you know, randomly at any given time,
I have the the ring. And I don't know if
Jared said this to you, but once you have the
ring in your possession, it's like impossible to not like
want to propose. It just feels impossible. Jared had the

(06:57):
ring in his possession for five five minutes and he
could barely hide it in his pocket from me. It's
it's unbelievable. You get this ring and you're looking at
it and you're so excited about it. I mean I
was looking at it every day. It was in my
uh my my bag that I brought clothes in. I
was looking at all the time, and I was like,
I just don't I want to make this special. So

(07:20):
long story short is that, um, we came to Nashville
to kind of self isolate. Uh. We came to Nashville
because her parents have a house that was big enough
to fit us. And her siblings were already here because
her brother plays professional baseball and he got sent home
because of the MLB uh not being active right now.

(07:41):
Her other brother and her brother's wife live here right
now as they transition from Philadelphia to Nashville. And so
Jessica and I were like, let's go to the house, Um,
hang out there. It's big enough for all of us,
and we can spend some time with your family and
enjoy this. Well. Her house also isn't a beautiful area
of Tennessee, and there's a great pond behind there. And

(08:04):
so her mother and I had talked, and her father
and I had talked. We decided that instead of New York,
since that had to be audible, it would be just
as special, if not more special, to do it here
at their house. Her brother, who's a great chef, was
going to cook the dinner. Um, and we would do
it in the backyard and we would surprise her uh

(08:26):
with her favorite sunflower, her favorite flowers, sunflowers at the
pond that she grew up on, and I would take
her on a walk walk down to the pond and
proposed to her there and then we could all celebrate
together that evening. So question, when you guys did decide
to go to Tennessee, did you have an inkling that

(08:47):
that was when you were going to propose? I did.
I knew it, Uh, I had. I had UH decided
about a week before. And so the other important thing
to me, Ashley, uh was one as I really wanted
my parents there. Um. Yeah, So that's what I was
going to ask because I was wondering when I saw

(09:07):
the pictures, I was like, I wonder whose family was there. Yeah.
So there's a couple of things of variables here that
we had to take into consideration. One is, obviously, UH,
my dad has some massive underlying health issues. Um. He
always has. We've talked about the podcast before. My dad
had has had a triple bypass and he's had um
massive heart complications and his lungs have been weakened due

(09:29):
to cancer at a younger age. So, like my dad
is is a healthy man, but he's also sixty two
and has had some underlying health issues, and him getting
the flu or the virus of any kind is not
is not something that is desired, just like getting the
virus of the flu for anybody's a desire, but for
my dad it does cause more complications than most. So,

(09:53):
but I wanted them there, and so I had to
figure out a way that they could if they were
going to be there, they could get in a car
drives straight to Nashville without getting out at any gas stations,
any rest stops, and then driving back home without coming
in interfering, without coming into any interaction with any other humans. Uh.
In addition to that, I had to make sure that
everybody in Jessica's house was healthy and safe, and so

(10:15):
we made sure of that as well. And so my
parents actually were able to make that happen. They down,
they drove down from Indiana to Nashville, UM to be
here for that, and so they hid in the woods
right by the pond. And then her parents hid in
the woods by the pond, and her brothers and there

(10:36):
and and then her brother's wife Uh hid in the
woods by the pond. And so once I got down
on one knee and proposed, then they came out and
we were all able to celebrate together in a healthy,
very safe environment. Um. And then my parents spent the
night here at the house so they didn't have to
go to a hotel. Uh. The clerks and nights have
to let them do that. So we celebrated all night.
Uh and then uh they woke up in the morning

(10:59):
and drove back up to Indiana. But so so here
in short, and I know there's a thousand questions that
you have actually kind of getting some details here in short, Um,
it was what I learned from all of this was, Yes,
I had this grand plan for New York City. We
had the dancers um from the tour who had planned
a big dance for Jessica and I that were there,

(11:21):
gonna pull off in the park. Uh. My family was
gonna be there, Her family was gonna be there. It
was gonna be outrageous and beautiful and um, super romantic.
But I sat around the table that night with my
family there and her family there, and laughter and drinks
and food being had UM and realize and recognized that

(11:43):
even though it wasn't the grander, the grand uh plan,
that it was so much better and so much more memorable.
And I could not have pictured a better way to
remember my engagement evening than just look around going, Yes,
this is a crazy time in this world, and there's

(12:04):
a lot of chaos, and there's a lot of hurt
and a lot of pain, but amongst that, love still shines.
And I just felt that love that whole evening. That
is so amazing. I'm so happy for you. That sounds
like the perfect engagement night. UM. I got a question,
who took those pictures? Anybody take video? We had we

(12:24):
have no video. Obviously it had to be UM, and
so we had to be very careful um with who
and how we interacted with people. We we have been again,
as I say this, because my dad at being such
a high risk UM right now we are. I'm overly cautious,
I guess. And so we had a friend of mine. No, no, no,

(12:47):
you're not overly You're You're good. You're good. Yeah, I'm
trying to be I'm sure we're trying. I mean, Jessica
and I have not left our house in I don't
even know. It feels like a year, but it's probably
been like ten days. I don't even know how long
it's been. But um, the the we had one photographer
who was a friend of mine who lives near here,

(13:07):
and her name is Rachel Peterson. She has done all
of the work for Generous and Hient since the beginning.
Because we wouldn't allow her to bring any extra people
because of what's going on, she had to set up.
She did an amazing job and set up self timers
and set up different cameras around the area I was

(13:28):
proposing so that she could get different angles in different shots.
So it looks like there was like ten photographers. Really
there was only one. She had just gone out of
her way to make sure she set up extra cameras
to capture it. Okay, so did Jess see the picture
the camera set up? Was there a photographer in the background? Like,
how did you hide that? Yeah? So you okay, now

(13:49):
now it's a good time. Yeah. Now should we go
to the story time where like I want you to
you like build up the morning like from the moment
you woke up. Yeah, okay, so you have this is
genuinely going to take at least a half an hour,
are guys, I need you just I need all the details. Definitely, Okay.
So now everybody out there, uh, you get the big
picture of why it happened here and what the purpose

(14:11):
was and who was here and what kind of players
were involved, and then uh, why it was important for
me to have this happened at that time. So you
get that side. Now, now let's go into the details
of the day. So, uh, if anybody knows Jessica, they
know she is one of the most like um, agreeable
people in the healthiest of ways that you've ever met.
Like she just wants to be a part of anything

(14:33):
that anybody else is doing, and she wants to do
it with a smile on her face. And so it's
never been difficult for me to ask Jessica to do anything,
Like if I say, hey, Jessica, let's go for a walk,
it would blow my mind if she would say no,
Like I know, she would just be happy to be
on a walk with whoever wants to walk with her.
That's who Jessica is. It always has been. And so

(14:55):
what I imagined was the easiest part of my day
ended up being the hardest and here's why. And so uh.
I woke up uh that morning, I had not slept
at all. I was tossing and turning. I woke up
to her brother cooking, uh this start this meal. Uh.
And he's just an incredible chef and he's worked in

(15:15):
some of the best restaurants in the world. Um. He
worked zahav in Philly, which is like a top five
restaurant in the United States for a while. And so
he was cooking this incredible meal. Jessica's in the kitchen
and I say, hey, hon, um this evening before dinner,
I would love to go for a walk with you,
and she goes, that would be awesome, and I thought, great,
So I'm gonna So in my head, I'm like, I'm

(15:36):
gonna take Jessica for a walk. It's about a fifty
yard walk, um, down to the pond. And then once
I get to the pond, I don't really care if
she sees the cameras or the photographer because at that
point she already know what's happening, Like it's very obvious
that with the sunflowers that there's something special going on. Um. Well,

(15:58):
about three hours later, Jessica comes up to me and goes, hey,
hon uh, it's gonna get really hot today, and my
mom wants us all to dress up for dinner tonight
and put makeup on so that we can have a
nice special dinner because my brother is cooking it. Oh
my god, Oh my god. Okay, so that was on
my list of questions. How did you get her in jeans?

(16:19):
And if she was wearing makeup? She is stunning with
her without makeup, she does not need it. But I know, like,
as a girl, you want to feel your very best
going into your proposal. So I was like, how did
they make her like look non quarantine exactly? So what happened?
I mean her her parents are fantastic and and I
love them dearly and um, so we're sitting at the

(16:39):
table dinner table to night before and her mom, who
she told me she was going to do this, she said, hey, guys,
I really it's my birthday coming up, which it is,
it's her birthday st and two days she goes, I
really would just like it since Jim, just because brother
has made this great dinner tomorrow night, if we all
woke up and we did our thing and then tomorrow evening,
we treated like we were going out to eat. So

(17:01):
we all put on makeup, and we all showered, and
we all put on nicer clothes, and um, we we
just came in here and had a good dinner. Well,
her brothers knew what was happening that I was proposing,
Her dad knew what was happening. Only Jessica didn't. And
it's not hard to convince a girl to say, Hey,
tomorrow night is gonna be a really special evening for
our family. We're gonna dress up and look good and

(17:21):
take family pictures. Like Jessica was so excited just about that.
So so you don't think it was obvious to her. Oh, Ashley,
just wait, just wait. Okay, but okay, but wait, we're
your parents here. Your parents weren't there then? Were your
parents like hiding the bushes during the proposal? Yes? Okay, okay,
continue Sorry. So so anyways, we go to bed that night,

(17:43):
wake up in the morning. Jessica knows that that evening
she's gonna be getting dressed up. And so about three
hours after I asked her to go on a walk
with me, she comes up and she goes, hey, hon,
I'm gonna have to shower, knight, put on makeup, and
get nicer clothes on. I would really love to go
for a walk now and not later because it's gonna
be hot and now to Phil and I don't want
to get sweaty before dinner. And I said, and her

(18:05):
mom was there when she said this to me, and
I was like, you gotta be kidding me. The easiest
part of my day now becomes the hardest. And so
here's the other side. I know, Jessica just wants me
to be happy, and so I thought in my head,
I was like, how do I make this happen? So
I thought, Okay, I'm gonna just let this go out
and like let it kind of like let her say
it and agree to going on a walk now, but

(18:26):
then later when I want to go on a walk again,
I'm just gonna tell her pretty much, Jessica, I would
really like to go for a walk, and I really
want you to come. And I know at that point
she would just probably go just because she will, like
she knows that if I, like, I never put my
foot down, um, and if I put my foot down,
I think she's just probably say yes, just because she'd
be confused. And like want to follow along. UM, all right, yeah,

(18:49):
she's definitely gonna get an inkling. At this point, I
feel like, yeah, well so I, uh did the day
goes on? UM? I get to about hour until uh,
the whole thing goes down. My parents text me and
say hey, they just made it to Nashville and that
they're parked at the end of the cul de sac,
which is where I told him to UM. And then uh,

(19:12):
her parents are in the house right now. Her brother
gives the queue at that point to say, Hey, Mom,
I forgot some herbs that I need for dinner. Will
you run to the store and get those? And so
her mom and dad then leave, uh and act like
they're going to the store, which really they're just going
down to meet my parents at the end of the
cul de sac. Uh. And I am at this point

(19:34):
about thirty minutes from go time. I text the group
chat a few final details. Uh. I go shower, get
changed myself. I put the ring in my back pocket.
I walk out into the living room and I just
I'm just throwing a hail Mary and I said, hey, hon,
since your mom's not back from dinner yet, UH, let's
just take a quick little walk so that everybody's happy

(19:56):
today and that I can get what I want and
you got what you and we can all just and
she goes, Okay, that works, and so I get my
shoes on. I text the group and say, hey, we're
walking out the door. We walk out the door, we start,
we're walking down the road. I have the ring in
my back pocket, and I'm like trying at that point
to think about what kind of small talk I'm gonna make,
and I get so awkward because this is like just

(20:18):
because my best friend, like I love this girl, and
for whatever reason, I became like a middle school child
like boy talking to his school crush. When I was
like on this like ten second walk, I didn't even
know what to say to her. Um, I didn't know
how to communicate anymore. So we started this little walk
and I'm I start to see the bench with the
sunflowers that we had set up for me to do

(20:40):
this at, and so I started to progress into like
what I want to say to Jess, and so I
in my head just start talking. In the very first
words that coming out of my mouth was there's a
reason why I really wanted you to go on this
walk today, and she goes okay, and I start crying,
and I said, this is a very special the whole

(21:00):
day for us, um and so when I start crying,
that's all I've said at this point, you know, please
note this, Like, at this point, all I've said is
I wanted to go on a walk. This is a
very special day for us. I start crying. So she
starts crying, but she doesn't know yet really why she's crying.
She either realizes that this is a massive moment that

(21:20):
either things are ending and like it's the shock of
the world to her, or that something really great's about
to happen. But here's a cool part, Ashley, because she
had no idea that we were going to be getting engaged,
and she never would have expected it to be being
done during UH isolation in Nashville because of how random

(21:41):
that whole thing was. She didn't think she was getting
proposed to. She actually thought that this UH virus and
kind of the isolating that we would have to do
was gonna push back our proposal for months, which made
her really sad, made me really said that she thought that.
So I said, this is a very special time for us,
and then I just went into some of the things
that I love about her. I said, um, Jessica, you

(22:03):
are the kindest, You are the most loving, you are
the most supportive person I've ever met. You have loved me, well,
you've loved me in crazy circumstances. You love me and
really great circumstances. And at that point we had pretty
much gotten to the bench uh that I wanted to
do this in front of, and I just got down
on one knee and I pulled out the ring and

(22:23):
she at that point still didn't know what was happening,
because her face was shocked, like I'm not kidding you,
I have Oh yeah, I'll post a couple of pictures
of this. Her mouth is wide open. She doesn't even
say yes. When I asked her to marry me. She
just shakes her head up and down and says, and
that's it. And then I said, is that a yes?
And she goes yeah, like just complete shock um and excitement.

(22:48):
And she starts crying and I'm crying, and we kiss
and we hug, and at this point, I said, and
there's others that want to come celebrate with us, And
that's when my parents walked around the corner and her
parents walked around the corner, and her brothers uh and
her sister in law and then they're also their dog Penny,
who's thirteen, who grew up with Jessica, came around the
corner as well, and we all uh celebrated together. Um,

(23:12):
and we were able to enjoy this and so it
was quick, um, but so special and uh, if you
can when when I post some of these pictures later,
I wanted to do after the podcast so that you
guys could all get a kind of a picture of
what or an idea of what was going on at
the time. Uh. It was the most beautiful setting, Like
I could not have pictured anything better. That is so awesome.

(23:36):
It just happens to have upon the backyard right and
one that like isn't disgusting and looking bad right now.
And also, uh, they happen to have like a bunch
of sunflowers that we were able to set up because
that's her favorite flower, and so we set up this
like just a couple of different pots of sunflowers. Um.
The picture makes it look like honestly, I spent months

(23:58):
planning this, but thanks to the help of her brothers,
my mom, uh, my dad, her dad, and her mom,
we made this. I think we made it really nice.
That is so cool. I'm so happy for you guys.
I can't believe she was shocked after the whole speel.
Like I remember during our proposal, I was like, he's
doing it, he's not doing he's doing it, he's not

(24:19):
doing it, And it was just like there was no
I just knew, like there was a proposal, you know,
like this is an engagement thing. This is an engaging thing.
So what was she thinking? It possibly was that you
were crying about. Well, actually, here's a crazy part. She
thought I started crying because she thought it really two
things she said, One I was ending, Like it went
through her that in her mind that I was ending

(24:40):
this relationship, which was really well, just because you're human
and I think there's been chaos and you jumped to
the worst case scenario. So the second thing that she
thought it could be was this proposal. But again, I
want to reiterate, like, think about how confusing it was
for me um and all these changes and then there's

(25:03):
so many things that are unexpected and kind of chaotic
right now that I don't think she thought that I
would propose during so much chaos because of the planning
that she knew I wanted to put into making this
very special, and so I don't. I think she just thought,
there's no way this is happening, because there's no way
that he could have predicted that we've been in Nashville.
He could have predicted that my family could have been here,

(25:25):
he could have predicted all these things like, and she's right,
I couldn't. But we spent a ton of time to
make sure it was special with only a week's notice. Okay,
so that makes sense. She just was so surprised that
you would do it then that it wasn't even like
a possibility in her head. And she loves so The
one thing about Jessica she comes from a big Italian family.

(25:45):
She loves her family on her mom and dad's side
so much, and she especially is close with her mom's
side of the family because they're huge Italian family and
they all live in Connecticut. So she kind of, in
her back of her head had thought, oh, he gonna
propose me on the East Coast because then we're gonna
be able to celebrate with my whole family when we're
together for the tour. So I think, when I honestly think,

(26:09):
when the tour got postponed. She her heart like dropped
out of her chest because she thought, I'm moving back
home with my parents. I have no clue of what
I'm gonna get engaged. I don't really know what my
future looks like. Ben hasn't talked to me about our
future and months, and I don't know why and if
he's ending things or if he still isn't as he's
always said. Like I was talking to her brother the

(26:31):
night before uh we we I did I proposed to her,
and I was like, half of the thing that I
really am excited about is this that this girl that
I love and that I want to make feel safe
and comfortable has been so confused about our relationship for
three months now. Like I can't take that any longer. Yeah,
because you guys would always talk about marriage and stuff
like this was something you were open about before December. Yeah,

(26:55):
for the first like six months of our relationship, and
then after that we haven't talked about it since because
I've been planning it. Okay, Yeah, I guess that is
very worrisome. So is the plan to live together, to
move in together, because I know you're talking about you know,
parents house, her apartment least being up. Uh. We we

(27:15):
won't before we're married. That is a choice that that
we've talked about, and we've we've gone back and forth
on it. Uh for a couple of reasons we won't.
One is um you know the I think a lot
of it is respect for my family and her family.
It's also, as I talked about before, like lessons learned
uh from past relationships. Uh. And also I think uh

(27:38):
for Jessica and I, uh, we have um abstain and
try to do this the best we can to make
our relationship as healthy as possible, and there is uh
there are steps that we still want to take to
do that. And so that's why right now we will
not be living together before married. But I think we'll
be finding a house before then that we can both

(27:58):
start to make our own very nice. So what's the
plan for where she's gonna live? Is she's gonna extend
her lease for another year? Is she gonna live with
her parents? When are you planning to get married? I mean,
I know you're not like having a wedding planner meetings
right now. You're obviously not planning the wedding right now,
But do you have a general idea of like the

(28:19):
month of the season that you'd like to do it. Well,
he is the funny part. Her brother does play professional
baseball and he uh everybody have talked to in the
Clark family has made sure that I know that we
have to do this during the off season. So there
is a very select few months that baseball is not
active uh and um and so because of that, we're

(28:40):
gonna be getting married in those months. Uh And in
addition to what are the off season months? Uh so
right now we don't really know like November, November through February.
Oh yeah, yeah, it's so like right now is the
question is like I don't know when baseball season is
going to be coming back, and I don't know the
new calendar day dates or the schedule. Um. And so

(29:03):
I think the best option for the lack of stress
at peace of mind is right now with all the
chaos and all the confusion for everybody, um that we
will probably not make any future wedding plans until this
is done and over and we have a clearer idea
of when we even could get married and what dates

(29:25):
would be available. Have you had friends that have had
to cancel weddings. Uh. Yeah, yeah, Jessica and I both
have had friends we've had it's really sad. Actually have
this one friend who had this beautiful, huge wedding plan
and they just had to say that it's canceled, but
they don't get a deposit back. And so, yeah, really
sad we've had. I mean, so here's a part, here's

(29:47):
a note here. Within all of this. Um, you know,
jess and I have been able to celebrate this engagement
and do it in a way that means that we're
just like hanging out in the house and laughing and
looking at a ring together and talking about our future
and all the things that we love about each other.
And that's really sweet and nice. But it doesn't take
away from the same conversations we had uh two weeks

(30:08):
ago on this podcast. Uh that kind of revolved around
a lot of pain that is only getting worse as
this virus continues to be active and spreading across the US,
and the pain from job loss, and the pain from
huge plans being changed, like weddings, like funerals not being
able to be attended to, and people's legacies not being

(30:28):
able to celebrated. And so I think with all that
being said, and not to be a debbie downer, because
I am happy and I am celebrating and my life
will forever be better because of what happened, uh just
two days ago. I also know that, like for Jessica
and I, it is smart for us to do this

(30:48):
in wisdom as well, and to know that the best
time to plan is probably not during a pandemic. Yeah,
I have it on my list of questions how you
got em? Yeah? I have it right here. I'm a
list of questions how you managed to get her out
of genes and out of like quarantine and tire. We'll
get the answer to that and much more right after
this break, Ben, the ring is stunning. Did you get

(31:23):
any feedback from her friends and family as to what
kind of rings she wanted? Yeah? So, Um, here's a
few things that people might not know about me. I
know nothing about rings. Um. I don't think that's a shot.
I know nothing. And so when I started to uh
plan the proposal, there are so many things that were
unexpected to me. Not unexpected, let me let me reiterate here.

(31:48):
Shocking to me? Right, I it is not a secret
that I have a history and a past on the show,
and everybody knows how that played out for me. Um,
But the idea of designing and picking out a ring
was something extra special, something that I wanted to do
to let Jessica know just how um important she is

(32:12):
and uh at that time, how important she was gonna
be to me when I proposed. And so I started
to customize make this ring, and I asked her mom
and my mom for input because here's the other side
of it. I believe that is important to allow the
people closest to your life to be involved in some
of your life's biggest moments, um and it just makes

(32:34):
them a little bit more special. And so I had
started a text chain with her mom and my mom, uh,
kind of going through some ring designs. Her mom had
sent us h Jessica's perfect ring, which was just big
old diamond with two things on the side. I think
it's called like a moon or something. I don't know that,
with a pinterest with I think it was from Instagram. Okay, yeah,

(32:57):
it was like a screensheft from Instagram. And so I
went in, I brought this to the jeweler. I told
him my budget. I said, hey, let's make this as
beautiful as we can, uh within the means that I
can do this, and we started designing. He started mocking
this up. It's a jeweler out of Denver called Not
Jeweller's g n A t Uh. He's a good friend

(33:17):
of mine, uh and so we were back and forth
for a while. And then every time i'd have a
mock up that would be like a computerized picture of
the ring, I'd send it to my group chat uh
my mom and her mom would give me feedback, and
then we'd go back to my buddy Roz at Not
Jewelers and he would kind of tweak it to how
we wanted it. At the end of it all, um,
there was I'd say there's about four or five iterations

(33:39):
of the ring. The ring that Jessica is wearing now
is one that I like, I love, and I don't
love rings, like it's not like a thing that I
get that into. But I love this ring. She loves
this ring, and it's a little different than the ring
that was her ideal ring, but I think it was
just different enough to make it feel like her own.
And for that, I'm I'm super grateful. It's so so pretty,

(34:04):
it looks so perfect on her finger. She's just so
feminine and beautiful. She's she is the cutest she is.
I mean, I uh, it's funny. I wish I wish
the world would know Jessica better, because Jessica is just
this like little bubbly, funny, goofy joyful light to this world.

(34:26):
And everything that she does is done with so much love,
and all she asks in return is that the world
loves her back. And when the world world loves her back,
she shines. And it's funny because like as she's driving
her car now, or is she is washing dishes or uh,
what was it yesterday? She was like, uh typing on

(34:47):
her computer. There's moments I look over and I see
her and she's just like looking at her ring, which
is dangerous and distracting as well as just really beautiful
because I can just see the uh I don't know.
Maybe the best word I can say for right now
is like the comfort that that ring is providing to her,
knowing that she has loved, that she is safe, that

(35:08):
her heart will never be broken. Uh. Ever, again, she's
just pure, you know, She's just so sweet and pure.
She is just light. I remember, like early on in
this podcast, we would describe like what kind of woman
we were trying to find for Ben, And I don't
even think I could describe somebody so perfect for you

(35:30):
as Jess, Like there is just no question that she
is the perfect person for you. She is. Uh yeah,
you're right, And I mean she's the perfect person for
me because she makes me a better man, a bet
her husband, or she will make me a better husband,
a better son, a better friend. Like she wants me
to be an extremely intentional friend to others. She wants

(35:51):
me to be a loving, caring, supportive son to my parents. Uh,
she wants to be uh for me to be a
husband or at least right now, a fiancee um that
is passionately exploring my interest, and she wants to support
me in that because she also wants to push me
to love her. Well, um, but you said it. I

(36:12):
think maybe like she is pure um because she's worked
hard to be pure, and she's worked hard to stay
um as a loving, giggly light to those around her,
and she does it. Well, maybe I didn't even think
about describing a girl exactly like Jess because I've never

(36:32):
met somebody exactly like Jazz. Yeah, so that's probably why
the best. And look what Instagram did. Isn't just absolutely
unbelievable that you just, um, you know, you d M
her and she became your future wife. And what's funny
about that is, if I like to think about fate
and like all the chains of a fact that like

(36:54):
went into her responding to your message, and if you
weren't the bachelor, there's probably a good chance that she
wouldn't have responded to your message or even well, I mean,
if you remember right. I mean, I can't remember the
exact episode, but when Jessica and I announced our relationship,
it was this podcast that I had kind of talked
about it for the first time on and it was
right when we got back from Honduras, and uh, you know,
the story was that I d M there on Instagram. Uh.

(37:17):
And she responded because of the blue checkmark, not because
oh she's looking for anything more than like the blue
checkmark to her meant, oh, this isn't like a like
she just even looked at it because she's like, oh,
this guy isn't just like super creepy I could have been,
and you know, and and she sent it to her brother,
who then helped her respond to me. Initially because Jessica

(37:37):
was so like thrown off by it. So yes, uh,
social media has been really good to me. Um and
and and for me. I mean this, that little message,
that little step of step of you know, risk, uh
has led me now to just be the happiest man.

(37:58):
What I believe is a lot five. And I would
tell anybody out there, if you're looking right now at
this time of distancing and you're still wanting to date, Um,
no better time to throw a couple of d ms
some people's you know what I've been doing with Nas
the past couple of days, Uh, tell us about it.
So future future, So former Bachelor producer Nas Perez, who

(38:19):
also happens to be my co host, and I don't
get it, and my best friend in real life. She
is thirty, she's single, she's never had a real boyfriend.
So I've made this sort of like Love is Blind
Meat Bachelor esque digital dating show for her. So I
set her up on three blind dates, fifteen minute phone calls,
three consecutive days, different guys. Um. So she met three

(38:42):
guys this week and she, uh, they're all really good.
They also really awesome conversationalist. Nothing was awkward. Um, they
know what she looks like, and she does not know
what they look like, and she will not know what
they look like until she chooses one person to go
on a date on in real life after quarantine is over.

(39:05):
So she's gonna end up meeting it's probably nine guys
throughout this process, and each week, at the end of
three days, she's going to pick her favorite guy, and
then the favorite in guys each week will go and
like compete in a finals round where she has additional
phone calls with them where they're all broadcasted. They're live
streamed on my Instagram story. We're doing it pretty much

(39:28):
consistently at ten pm Eastern, so you get to watch
Naz's fifteen minute phone call with a stranger who my
sister and I have vetted and in the end, who
knows what may happen. We're getting some good catches in
for her. So if I want to watch this, I
just have to go on your Instagram and like it's
just your Instagram, your personal Instagram, and it will be

(39:50):
on there that I can like even watch after the fact. Yea,
so it's on my Instagram live. You can like participate
in the conversation. At ten in Eastern times seven Pacific
and then um, we're doing it Friday through Monday, and
then you can watch. If you can't watch it live,

(40:11):
you can go to my my YouTube Jared and my
YouTube it's Ashley I Jared h and you can watch
the episodes after they're done being live there. Oh that's awesome.
I can't I really want to watch that. I know
nas and she's great, but hey, ash I know it's
about time for us to move on the way from
the thirty minutes of my engagement, but I want to

(40:33):
just as usual, I feel more comfortable. I think, UM
kind of closing that little conversation, we'll talk about it,
I'm sure many more times, uh in the future. But
I always like to just kind of give a like
my own little monologue on like UM to to anybody
out there listening. I love your monologues. Go for it. Yeah, well,

(40:55):
I mean it means a lot, because, uh, a couple
of months ago, I shared on this podcast that even
dating was hard for me because I had gotten um,
really consumed with the idea of being single and kind
of the uh, the attention I could get from being single,
and and the how my career had kind of existed
because I was single, and to announce my relationship with

(41:17):
jess was a big deal to me because I knew
it was going to be taking a drastic change in
my life. And uh, you know, for five years of
my life, I've been known as a bachelor, and that
is no longer the case. Um And for the whole
time on this podcast, I've been known as a bachelor,
and that is no longer who I am by definition. Uh.
And I just want to take a second and say, um, one,

(41:42):
I have met and and in love with the most beautiful,
uh person I have ever met. I am so thankful
for Jessica, and I'm so thankful that she loves my family,
she loves me, she loves her family, she loves my friends,
and she loves the things I do, including this podcast.
Oh well, a little side note before from before I

(42:05):
continue is for my birthday, which was a week ago. Um,
my gift from Jessica was a new podcasting set so
I could bring better quality podcast equipment to each of
you every week. She did that because she just knows
how much this podcast means to me. Um. So she
that was her birthday gift to me. And so I'm

(42:26):
just saying that to say, hey, she she supports me well,
and she supports this podcast well and the things that
I'm doing so well. So first off, UM, thank you
to Jessica. The second thing is thank you to the
Almost Famous family. Um, people have been incredibly supportive, insanely kind.
Not that you wouldn't be. You would be a terrible

(42:47):
human to not support this. I would be. I would
be super confused if somebody was not in favor of
what's happening between Jesse and I. But just your words
of encouragement to Jessica and myself, including from you Ashley
and the rest of Bachelor Nation and all of you
Almost Famous listeners, and from my heart, thank you. Uh.

(43:07):
It is a wild, wild world. I've said it once before,
and I'll close with this. All I've could have ever
prayed for and asked for in my life was to
feel supported, To feel like I was a part of
a community, to feel like I was involved, to feel
like I was accepted in, to feel like I had
a seat at the table amongst others. And uh, big
moments like this in my life and I hope the

(43:29):
same for you listeners out there. Big moments have made
me feel those things and more, and a lot of
it is because of who you guys are and how
and what you're the words you say and what they
how they resonate with me. So thank you for listening along,
thank you for giving me credibility after speaking on a
podcast to you now for three years, and thank you
for celebrating us. Uh. It means the world to Jessica

(43:49):
and I. UM so just simply thank you on behalf
of us for celebrating our love. We love you, Ben all. Right,
after this, we're going to talk patch or hot topics
for now. Here's a word from our sponsor. Hey, almost

(44:13):
famous listeners, welcome back. UM. We just got done talking
about my engagement and UM, that was special for me.
But it is time uh to get back to our
regular scheduled programming and talk about some Bachelor trending topics
and once again, Bachelor Nation. You have have not disappointed us.
You continue to throw topics are off season and even

(44:38):
during UH self isolation. So I'm gonna start with this one, actuley,
tell us what you know about it? Um On a
On a press conference this last week, President Trump compared
his news conferences his updates on the COVID nineteen virus
with the Bachelor finale. Uh, I can s are some

(45:00):
thoughts too, because I know I'm you know, politics and
I have have had close relationships. But I want to
hear what you thought when you heard that the President
United States during a pandemic compared his news conferences to
the Bachelor finale. I mean, it's pretty weird, and I
can I keep it at that, and then it's pretty

(45:23):
bizarre that he's thinking about his brain eggs. It's well,
it's bizarre for so many reasons. One, I think Chris
Harrison said it best. What a time we live in
where I can be watching, uh, these news conferences and
all of a sudden, the show that I still talk
about that I am hosting a live tour of that
I'm very actively involved in that I participated in as

(45:46):
long as well as you is then being brought out
of the mouth of the president. I remember when President
Obama brought up The Bachelor during UM I think it
was some breakfast like uh, the State Breakfast or something,
and uh, the clip came out and I was just
like in awe that the President United States was bringing
up the Bachelor. Well, it's happening again either way, it's

(46:08):
kind of it's kind of I don't know, never mind
past it's just wild. I mean, it just as wild. Actually,
I get what you're saying. But here's the truth of
it all. Besides, because there's gonna be people out there
that support the idea that we're talking about ratings. Uh,
there's gonna be people out there that don't support it.
It's politics. Uh, it will always be controversial at some level.

(46:32):
But here's the truth of it. No matter what side
you fall on, the Bachelor once again finds itself in
a place of getting another massive win because during during
a pandemic, it's still being talked about one. Isn't that
insane that that's how culturally impactful our show is. Well,
their show, the show that we have appeared on. Yeah,

(46:54):
and and rode the coat tails of now for yes.
Um uh. Next topic is Bachelor Peter Webber hangs out
with ex Kelly Flanagan after split from Madicine Pruitt. Actually,
I know you're fired up about this. I know that
you have a lot to say. I'm taking it over
to you. I can't get over it. I think this
was this came out two or three days after our

(47:16):
last podcast, and of course the first thing I do
I see it. I screenshot the TMZ article. I send
it to our podcast group with Ben and the producers,
and it's just like, this season is never going to stop.
But thank you Peter, and thank you to his girls
too that allow us to have some fresh, juicy content
to talk about every single week. I was honestly flabbergasted.

(47:38):
I was like, there's no way that must be like
a gal pal um, a cousin, I don't know, somebody
he has a fun relationship with. You threw over his shoulder.
I was like, can we really make out Kelly's face?
And then I was like Chicago. I was like, holy Chicago, Um,
that's where Kelly's from. And then there were a couple
other pictures just kind of infirms that this was Kelly,

(48:02):
that Peter was hanging out with. Um, you know, my
husband just really really not keen on the fact that
they were in such a public location. It seems like
a lot of people were thinking, oh, let's go take
a walk in Chicago, um by the water, because there's
this one photograph where they're like where there's so many

(48:23):
people walking it looks like like a charity walk. There's
a ton of people out there. But I mean that's
not you know, I don't know that that was I
don't think that was intentional. They probably thought like, oh,
let's take a walk, and then they're just happened to
be a ton of people there. So it wasn't exactly
great for social distancing. But that's one that's that's another

(48:43):
issue to discuss them some other time. Um. So this
is the wild part though, Actuley is uh two comments here.
One is, uh, Hannah ann has been uh came out
and talked about this and how she's not shocked, and
and then the other part of this the whole story
so other I guess what we're saying is other contestants

(49:03):
from Peter season is now are what now weighing in,
including uh, the woman Hannah and that he ended up
with at the end, who we've kind of, in my eyes,
like kind of forgotten that he actually ended up with
somebody because it was such a weird quick transition. Well
it was because yeah, that was because they were trying
to make it seem like he ended up with Madison,
but apparently he absolutely did not end up with Madison.

(49:23):
If two weeks ago on that show, which holy Molly,
wait it was two weeks ago. No, no, okay, so
it's three weeks ago that the finale happened. Three weeks
ago he was, you know, sitting next to Madison, and
then you fast forward two and a half weeks and
he's in Chicago picking up Kelly. Don't you think that

(49:45):
they were talking during that finale? Like, do you think
that this like really rammed up that fast? And two
and a half weeks he decided to in what was
supposed to be quarantine, he goes and flies over to
Chicago to spend time with another girl, a girl that
was sitting in the audience of his after the final rows,
which is now super bizarre. And I don't I thought

(50:08):
it was them saying sorry Kelly for not inviting you
two women tell all? But now was it supposed to
be some sort of foreshadowing of what was to come? Oh,
I've never Let's pause there, Ashley. That is an incredible thought.
Is because she wasn't a women till all, and that
became a big deal and the rumor was spiring spinning
around that you know, producers didn't like Kelly, that what

(50:30):
theyn't want her involved, and then she gets invited to
Final Rows, which made us all go, oh, they'd like her,
they wanted her involved, but they had a different plan
for her. Do you think she was there because they
knew this was happening and they thought maybe it could
And I don't know, this is all just like us
kind of spitballing. But what if Barbed by talking as

(50:53):
much as she did kind of took away from the
their plans, which was to present Kelly as somebody that
that Peter was still kind of talking to. I guess
that could be. It seemed like the show wanted it
to be Madison though, because one Chris Harrison went to
um Alabama to be like, so uh, Peter single. So

(51:18):
it was like it seems like Peter didn't have his
hands in any of it, Like maybe he didn't want
to go back to Madison. Maybe that was never his intention,
but the show was like, we're going to make him
go back to Madison or like they assumed that he
would have wanted Madison if he didn't want Hannah, and
but apparently he wanted Kelly well, and Peter was so
I don't know, though he was very defensive of Madison

(51:41):
during the finale, especially to his mom. Wasn't am I
remembering this right? And we can move on after this?
But am I remembering this right? Where there was a
rumor that bar Peter's mom had came up to Kelly
after the finale and spoken some words into her ear
like hey, you were always my favorite it or hey
I've always loved you, or hey we should go out

(52:02):
shopping sometimes. Like, wasn't that a rumor going around? It
wasn't a rumor. We all got to see it. So
it's the three weeks ago today that Barb wrote that
under her Instagram. One of them wrote under each other's
instagrams is saying like I'd love to get lunch and
shops soon. So they were obviously talking back then. Oh

(52:22):
my god, because Kelly was the only one Peter and
Peter's family was falling on Instagram come the finale, so
there was something they were at least d m NG.
This is so weird. Team Almost Famous listeners, all of
you little sleuthors out there, we need some info. Email

(52:43):
us at Been and n Ashley at I Heard Media
dot Com, or hashtag us at the Almost Famous podcast
on Twitter. What do you know about this? This is wild.
Here's the funny part before we move on to the
next topic. Is Peter Season. For the most part, we thought,
uh that we're not really involved, we don't really get it.
The carre your development isn't awesome, and we don't see
any real relationships being formed. It has been the finale

(53:07):
and anything happening since the finale that's made us talk
about Peter Season more than we ever talked about it
during the season in general, like Peter and his girls
are still actively involved in this world and we are
still talking about him. And who we're definitely talking about
often right now is Tyler Camberon. Oh wait, I'm sorry,
I have to say one more thing. How weird is

(53:28):
it that Kelly was the one he knew before the
show and now he's just back with her And it's like,
do they even need the show? Of course they need
to show Ashley because now we're involved. And he was
saying three weeks ago that he loved Madison. He was like, mom,
this is the woman I love. And now not even

(53:50):
three weeks later, he's got another girl on his shoulder.
Freaking weird guys, Uh yeah, yeah, Tyler, Yeah. Tyler Cameron
plays Coy when asked if he's dating Hannah Brown, do
you think any of this is weird? What is? Are
they still together? I mean, they've been together since the
beginning of this, uh isolation period, and they're in Tyler

(54:14):
it seems like hometown. Uh they haven't. I don't know
if they've separated or not, but according to what it
sounds like like they're very much hanging out. You guys
think that when she went to fly down to quarantine
with him, she thought it was going to be possibly
until April thirty at the least. Like I said last week,

(54:35):
you know, they're they're given their relationship a chance. You
know in a way that they will come out of
this knowing whether they can pretty much be together forever
or whether or not they will never work like you're
gonna know, you're gonna have an answer. So possibly it's
a great time. But as far as this tease that
Tyler is giving us, he um calls one of his friends,

(54:58):
Brown Bear, and so he jokes that me and brown
Bear are dating. Yes, I can confirm, while he smiles
and nods, And I don't think that's a confirmation whatsoever.
I think that's Tyler playing along and being like, yeah,
this is me fan, we're dating ham are so funny. Um,
But really, I think I think that Hannah and Tyler

(55:21):
are certainly hooking up during this quarantine. I would say
that they are uh committed in quarantine. There's six people
in that house, and I can't imagine they're hooking up
with anyone else. So here. Actually, I feel like I
just made a comment a few weeks ago that I
felt like we were talking about Tyler dating somebody else,

(55:41):
And again we we prefaces with saying he's a single
uh man, so there is no shame or judgment. But
I feel like just a few weeks ago, I was
talking about him dating like some other like celebrity, or like,
yeah it was Kylie's best friend. That's not a thing anymore.
Now we're on a Hannah brows So so far, I've

(56:01):
had too in the last year of my life dissect
three different relationships of Tyler Cameron's. At some point, at
some point, I will not be talking about who Tyler
Cameron is dating. Instead, we'll be talking about Madison Pruett,
who denied dating Connor Saley, who was the Bachelor for
The Bachelor. I'm on stage in Los Angeles. He picked

(56:22):
a terrific girl. I thought maybe they were going to
date that obviously didn't work out, and instead there was
a rumor flying that him and Madison were dating. But
she's saying that's not true. Do you think it was
ever something that was happening. She's saying, I'm just focusing
on myself. She says that whatever exchange that she and
and Connor had has been platonic. Um, my guess is

(56:44):
that it's just been over the phone. DM text me
a phone call here there. I don't know that they've
seen each other in real life. I think she probably
thinks he's cute. Um, probably has a way to easily
contact him, obviously, Like if you're in The Bachelor, Emily,
you can basically call up any person you think is
cute very easily. I don't think that they are in

(57:05):
any way dating, but they're probably pre Bachelor in Paradise talking.
It's interesting. I mean, it makes sense. It's a good
looking couple. They no harm, just like there's no harm
in Tyler and Hannah being back together. Um, if they are,
but a little bit shocking, it wouldn't have been the

(57:25):
two people I would put together. But yeah, so far
all we know is that Madison is denying dating Connor.
A few final topics here that we gotta throughout there.
One is uh Luke Parker's birthday message for Madison Pruit.
The headline is is raising eyebrows for among Bachelor fans.

(57:45):
So once again, Luke Parker is raising eyebrowns with confusion
to Bachelor fans. Obviously, there are two people that are
saving themselves until marriage to have sex, and people are like,
you'd be a great cup full, and then some people
are like, don't you even don't even think about it? Luke. Um,
you know, Luke is horrible, horrible, totally different person. It's

(58:08):
basically this is just fodder underneath an Instagram picture and
people are freaking out that he said like happy birthday girl.
It's like, okay, guys, let we don't have to freak
out over anything. That doesn't mean anything. I'm sure Luke
was a fan of Madison during the season, but I
don't think this means that he's trying to get with
her or vice versa. No, I'd agree, I would agree. Hey,

(58:31):
just a quick note, Ashley and I obviously are doing
this from our home, so if you hear some bogs,
dogs barking, or cars pulling up personally, Oh is the doggie? Yeah,
that's yeah, Yeah, it's it's just our homes. This is
very similar. I saw it today, Uh that Kelly and
Ryan are doing their television show from home. Good Morning
America's do have him home. We're all making the most

(58:51):
of this. Uh, we're doing this from our home. So
if you hear some background noise or some life noises
going on, that's why. Ashley final topic, UM, that I
want to discuss, and and it's one that we're gonna
kind of. It's a tough topic and I wanted to
save it to the end because it's one A lot
of these, you know, make us laugh, and they make

(59:11):
us intrigued and they keep us going. Um, but this
topic is one that sits heavy on my heart. UM,
since I've heard about it. The Bachelor's Michelle Money reveals
daughter A fifty that's fifteen years old, is in I
See You on life support after a skateboarding accident. She's
hit her head, is experiencing brain trauma and is currently

(59:33):
last update we heard, uh is in medically induced coma
to relieve the pressure from her brain. Yeah. I woke
up and this is the first thing I saw, and
you know, just hand on my heart, jaw dropped. I'm
I just feel absolutely horrible. Just pray, pray, pray for them. Please,
UM send all your love and positive vibes their way.

(59:57):
I just I love Michelle. She's such a one her
ful mom and the relationship she's had with Brielle was
so obvious on the show, like they were just best rooms.
They're like the Gilm Girls, you know, they are the
Gilm Girls. And I really hope that Brielle can pull
out of this fast. Um. Just thinking of them out

(01:00:17):
all day, all week until we hear good news. Yeah. Um, So,
bachel Nation, if you can, or almost famous fans, if
you can do us a favor, do Michelle Money a favor. UM,
reach out and show her some love and support right now.
The kind messages that you sent me after my engagement

(01:00:37):
should be being sent over with the same with with
the same type of heart that you guys shared with me,
and and the loving, supportive heart that you shared with me.
Go ahead and do that for Michelle Money. Go ahead
and send her a message of some kind. I know
from personal experience that your words do matter, So go
over love on her. We will be uh praying, we

(01:00:58):
will be hoping, we will be wished, we will be
following along with that story. It is a tough one.
But here is the takeaway and uh, Michelle Money has
came out and said it well. She wants people to
know right now is to wear a helmet no matter
if you feel uh like this is something you're super
good at, if you feel like this is just a
quick little trip on a bike or a skateboard or whatever,

(01:01:19):
where a helmet um, Because Hey, you're you all are
very precious and we need you safe and we need
you secure. Ashley. Let's take a break. When we come back,
we're gonna read some reader emails, call one of our
almost famous fans, and we're going to close out this podcast,
uh with a nice little segment about what things you're

(01:01:40):
doing Ashley in this last week to keep yourself occupied
during self ice elation. Hey, we're back taking reader emails.
We have one right here that we want to read.
And then we want to call this fan of ours

(01:02:03):
because she's a part of the almost Famous family and
she sent us a very very vulnerable email and I'm
gonna read it here It's titled Feeling Alone, and it's
from Anna. She says, I have been alone during this quarantine,
and I just wanted to thank you both for reminding
your listeners to reach out for help if you need it.
I was in a great place before this happened, and
I suppose I still am. I have a great new

(01:02:24):
accounting job, a house, and two sibling kittens, which I
am so grateful for. I'm able to work from home
and still get paid, but I don't know my job
well enough to feel productive. This makes me feel guilty,
but I am trying. It doesn't help my depression being
at home. I thought I had it under control, but
losing my routine has hurt I. Misme elderly parents. I

(01:02:47):
do shower, et cetera every morning, but not talking to
people in person has set me back. Please keep up
your great work and maybe take calls from people alone
like myself. Ashley. Let's do it. Anna. Hey, Hey, this
is Ashley. I Ken Eddie. I know. Oh, it's so

(01:03:10):
good to hear from you. Ben is also on the phone. Hey, Anna,
how you doing. I'm good? How real well? We're doing well.
We're both here in separate places, just like we know
your are we just read your email to everybody out
there listening. Um, you know, here's one thing I want

(01:03:30):
to start this conversation with you off about Anna is
thank you for sending the email, thank you for being vulnerable.
I think what you expressed is how a lot of
people are feeling right now. Uh. To start, how are
you doing uh personally? And then also in the same breath,
is there anything you've learned after writing this email that
would help others out there listening. Um, you know I'm

(01:03:56):
gonna be lying if I said I was doing okay. Um,
you know it's doing great before all this started. But
excuse me. Before that, you know, in October, I had
lost my job and then I lost my cat, and
so I want to stay with my parents for a
couple of months. And then I got a great in

(01:04:18):
a job, fabulous job, never made more money, um, still
getting paid. So I'm very fortunate for that. But um,
you know, three weeks into my job, I am now
at home and by myself and hesitant to visit my parents. So, um,

(01:04:41):
you know, because I'm afraid to expose them to anything
if I've been exposed, So it's just depressing. I'm trying
to work, but I don't know my job very well
and it's just hard, you know. So what I've learned
is it's important to communicate over the phone with people

(01:05:03):
or email and that kind of thing. I mean that
that kind of says it all. I guess the anna
one thing that ash and I were just book speaking
about a little bit ago was, um, how much this
has changed a lot of our lives. And Ashley, I

(01:05:25):
was just about to ask you, but what is it
like three things actually that you've been doing there in
the self isolation that's helped you stay connected and feel
less alone. Well, I feel like Jared and I keep
talking about the walks that we've been taking. We've just
been taking the dogs on long walks and it's kind
of therapeutic. And I like feeling, you know, my blood circulate,
feels good to move a little bit. And I I've

(01:05:49):
been cooking a little bit. I made the most amazing
macaroni and cheese the other day. It was cracker barrel
macaroni and cheese. Guys, you gotta get that box. It's
better than any other other one out there. And then
I mixed it with broccoli with was just covered in
garlic and breadcrumbs. You should just try it. It's super easy.
And then I watched a great movie. Oh yes, I

(01:06:10):
put that on my story. Yeah. Um. And then I
watched a great movie last night that I haven't seen
in like, I don't know, over ten years, for sure,
over ten years Spanglish, you know, with with Adam Sandler.
So good. So I recommend that to anyone who hasn't
watched it or hasn't watched it for a while. You know,

(01:06:30):
there's a few takeaways the exercise, um, the trying new things,
the slowing down a bit. But Anna, I want to
throw it back to you for a bit because, as
you said, you have felt um depressed, um, and you
felt alone during this time. Have you found any ways

(01:06:51):
to find community um within this kind of ice isolating,
forced isolating experience. Um. You know, I have walked quite
a bit, like on my lunch break because I am
still trying to work at home, so I'm kind of
stuck to my computer. But um, so I have walked

(01:07:12):
that I've met a few neighbors. You know, I've lived
in my house for five years now. I bought a
house five years ago, so I have met new neighbors
that I haven't met before, So that's been great. Um.
Other than that, you know, like, I'm I'm afraid to

(01:07:32):
go anywhere. To be honest with you, I can't believe
you all are talking to me right now. You shouldn't
go anywhere else. Um, let's brainstore some things. What would
make you happy that you can do from home? Do? What?
What do you think that there's something that you could
do from home that you haven't been able to do? Like,
is there any like kind of material that you need?

(01:07:54):
Do you need any like? Uh, cookie dough? Um? Is
there a game fee? Do you need coffee? Yeah? Like
is there a game we can send you? I don't know.
I want to make you happy. Yeah. I am blessed
in so many ways. I don't want to make it

(01:08:14):
seem like I'm just that well. I am kind of
depressed right now, but I am blessed. Like I have
a paycheck coming in, I have my parents, Um, I
have great coworkers. I just still feel so well. Um.

(01:08:39):
You know the thing is in a is uh what
you're what we're hearing from you right now when I
just said it, and I mean it is uh your
voice is mattering to so many that are listening to
this because they're hearing you, and they're hearing what you're saying,

(01:09:01):
and they're going, I'm right there with you. This is
this is the thing that gets overlooked, uh, during the
COVID nineteen UM pandemic, is that there are you know,
as you just mentioned, Anna, that you are blessed, you
still are getting paid, yet you still feel alone, and
there's people out there that have lost their jobs, that

(01:09:22):
have lost all sense of purpose. And we're all going
at some level, what is happening right I your voice
and your emotion is is connecting to people right now
who are listening, going I'm right there with you. Um.
But here's the hardest truth of it all is there's

(01:09:44):
not an easy answer. It's not like right now we
can snap our fingers and say let's get back together.
We don't know when it's gonna end. But and I
wonder this, I wonder this has this feeling and tell
me if I'm I'm completely off base here, but has

(01:10:05):
this feeling of isolation and feeling depressed and being depressed
and feeling alone. When you finally get the word from
whoever it's going to be that says go back out
into this world. What are the things that you're going
to be most grateful for? Um, hugs, a conversation, Congratulations

(01:10:34):
by the way, thank you see Anna in the midst
of tears, in the midst of how so many of
us are feeling, you have it in your heart to
say congratulations, and for that, I thank you. Um. How
about this, We're I'm gonna send you some coffee from
Generous Coffee. I'm gonna load you up with some coffee. Yeah,

(01:10:55):
we're gonna get it. We're gonna send some treats over
to your house for sure, But gifts won't fix the disconnect.
And so when we get back into this world, I
want to hear from you. Please write us another email,
uh and just tell us how it feels to get
a hug again. And then do me one favor. Uh when, if,

(01:11:17):
when and if you ever get to meet Ashley and I, UM,
I would like a big hug us feel very nice
absolutely uh me like I can't believe that'll just called? Well,
will you do us this favor? Too? Is Ashley and

(01:11:37):
I we we love getting listens on this podcast, and
so I'm gonna be looking for that one extra listen
from you to listen to this interview back. Uh. And
then also, uh, we're gonna have a lot of you
out there who listened to this interview. So please email
us at Ben and Ashley I heeart media dot com,
hashtag gusaid at the Almost Famous podcast on Twitter. Let
us know how you're feeling, let us know if you

(01:12:00):
need help, let us know, uh if you are hurting. Uh,
here's the truth at all. Uh. This podcast is fun. Uh,
it's enjoyable, it's entertaining. Um, but all of us are
hurting in our own ways. UM, and we don't want
to do this alone either. So Anna, thank you for
coming on the podcast. Thank you for being vulnerable, thank
you for being honest. Uh. We will we appreciate you.

(01:12:22):
We will be sending you coffee. But just thanks for listening.
Thank you so much. Anna. My heart goes out to
you right now. I'm giving you a virtual hug. You
seems so soulful. I just big hug, all right, sending
all our love by all right. Right from one story

(01:12:52):
there with Anna, who I do think speaks for all
of us. I think she speaks for every person that's
listening and participating, no matter or uh what level of
privilege you come from, or what level of confusion you're at,
or what you know tangible disconnect. You have the Anna's
simple sentiment and her heart is telling the story of

(01:13:14):
what a lot of Americans are feeling right now. And
so again, I just want to reiterate, if you're hurting,
if there's pain, if there's disconnecting your life, please email
us and reach out to others for help. People want
to help, people want to love you. Well. Uh. From
a story of Anna who speaks on behalf of all
of us and how we're feeling right now, to another
story of celebration. We have one of my favorite people

(01:13:36):
in the world, Tiny on the line to help explain
to us some big news that she's recently announced. Oh
my goodness, we talked to you like three or four
weeks ago, and now you're back to tell us. So
you're pregnant. Yes I am, and oh my gosh. Actually
you were like anything, what's new or house life? And

(01:13:58):
when you were talking to me, and I was almost
about to say something, and I'm all, no, like I
had an awkward pose. So that was the secret I
was holding back. But first of all, congratulations to ben
no jeez, Tiley, I knew you would. I knew you would.
Somehow davidte this conversation to congratulating me in the midst
of like one of the coolest, biggest announcements of your life.

(01:14:20):
You've been wanted to be a mother for a while,
and you're gonna be a great mother. What was the
feeling like when you heard that you are pregnant? We
were honestly shocked because it wasn't necessarily something we were
working towards quite yet, So the shock was it was exciting.
It was like hoo, kind of it took us a minute.

(01:14:43):
We sat down, we found out together and we kind
of sat down and just looked at each other and
had just embraced this new, exciting journey that we're gonna
It's something we wanted, but we're just like, whoa, Okay,
now let's do this. I feel like I've been waiting.
I really I haven't looking at all your instagrams for

(01:15:04):
the past like six months, being like once the baby announcement,
I wonder if it's the baby announced, it's gonna because
you're just so motherly and I know that it was
something that you've always wanted. Yeah, thank you. I have
been overwhelmed by everybody. Everybody's excitement for us, and they're

(01:15:26):
encouraging words and support being like we've been waiting for this,
like you just said, um because that just I don't know,
I feel like it's very encouraging to myself, Aunt Taylor,
to just knowing that people believe in us for this
role and that, Um so it's it's really exciting. Thank you.

(01:15:46):
Oh you are going to be the most fantastic mother.
How is your pregnancy going so far? Do you mind
telling us how far long you are? Yeah, I know,
I am. I'm almost sixteen weeks. I'm at the end
of the teen weeks. And it's um interesting in quarantine life.
I mean, it kind of works well for how I'm

(01:16:07):
fealing because, um, I'm gonna be honest, the pregnancy, growing
a human is definitely a badge of honor and a
beautiful thing, but it is hard. Um. So, it started
out I felt pretty good. I feel I feel really grateful.
I never got too sick, but uh, fatigue and nauseousness

(01:16:29):
was real for the first trimester kind of hit me
a couple of different times. We actually found out just
a few days before we were on our way to Europe.
And so in Europe, I like had a couple of
days that I did not feel good, but for the
most part felt pretty good. And then, um, now I
actually am experiencing some um some body pains your body

(01:16:52):
just starts to move and shift on you and from
some old damp accidents and stuff. I'm actually dealing with
some extreme pain so which aren't allowing me to do
some of my normal exercises. So that's a little bit hard,
but it's a great sacrifice of course. Um so I
can't like run or walk, um and if you know,

(01:17:13):
you know that I love to be moving at all times.
So it's just been an adjustment, but it's totally worth
it and I'm doing all that I can to make
sure that I'm I'm keeping this baby healthy, keeping myself healthy,
and um, quarantine life is definitely an addition to all
the blues and the moods and all that. So yeah,

(01:17:36):
it's it's crazy, Timley that uh yeah, so I mean
just uh, I think you just said it, but I
think I missed it. How far along are you? So
I'm going on sixteen weeks, so for sixteen weeks and
now you know, typically from what I know about pregnancy,
which is very little. So if I say something and
it's incredibly offensive and every single time out there just
freaks out on me, I get it. I probably deserve it.

(01:17:57):
But isn't a thing like within the like second and
third time is like wouldn't you want to kind of
be like nesting they call it, or like nestled in totally?
So I think that, Um, I even felt that, like
from the moment that I found out, I was like,
oh my gosh, I have to It's like instinctual, I think.
And I could be so wrong too, I'm just speaking.
Everybody's experience is so different. Um, but I feel like

(01:18:22):
from the moment I found out, all of a sudden,
I was like, what can I shift in my life
like to start preparing for this? And yeah, so there's
so right now. Um, I'd say there is a little
bit of just there's extra time on our hands. We're
not traveling like we have been planning to do and
um because of this coronavirus situation and all that. But um,

(01:18:44):
it has allowed me to kind of Okay, what's the
next project? And then I do hear my sister just
had her second baby. In those last couple of weeks
and that last trimester. Um, you you get real stir
crazy and the need to nest. So you're so right on,
but um, I'm experiencing a little bit of it already.
So man, well hey uh Tinley, Uh, we celebrate you here,

(01:19:08):
I know everybody does. Um, congratulations to you and Taylor,
and congratulations on on bringing life into this world. I
know it's going to be fun for the world to
watch this child grow up with the guidance of you
and Taylor. So thanks for sharing with us. Thank you
so much. Congratulations, so so happy for you. Thank you, Ashley,

(01:19:30):
but prayers are appreciated. And congratulations to you Ben. That's
an exciting season of life as well. So sad all up.
And then Ashley, I can't wait for your announcement. Um
but oh no, rush, but thank you. Maybe everybody is

(01:19:50):
like Ashley, Jared, please have a quarantine baby. My mom
was such a pain in the ass last week. She
was like, I just don't know why you're waiting a
few more months to start trying, Like why wouldn't you
just do it now? I'm like, Mom, first off, we're
in your house, so no, thanks, I do think yeah,

(01:20:11):
it's it's worth waiting. But also of course, when the
time is right, it's gonna find you. You know. Bye.
All right, Well, Ben highs and lows on this podcast,
that's for sure. It's been a pleasure talking to you
and getting every single detail from your from your engagement.
Thanks for sharing that with us, and UM, well to

(01:20:34):
another week of being quarantined. May you enjoy this. Actually
what an amazing time, well, not an amazing time. If
you're ever going to be quarantined, I'd say this is
a great week for you and Jess to be UM
because I think that togetherness and that the coziness that

(01:20:55):
comes from it is something that you wouldn't normally get
to savor UM in a regular day lifestyle. Yeah it is,
And this is a special time for us and and
we are celebrating, trust me, we are. We are soaking
up every moment we have with each other, and especially
the moments that have very little distraction right now because

(01:21:16):
of the pandemic. But as we did two weeks ago,
Ashley and I uh want to send a final note
to all of you out there. Uh again, I'll mention
and and just say this so that hopefully you can
see that I can relate, and I know Ashley can
as well because her husband has worked in this world.
But I am invested in the three restaurants, and I
own two coffee shops UH personally, all of which are

(01:21:36):
struggling right now, all of which have employees who are
no longer working UH for us and with us because
they these shops are not open. And so I just
wanna on behalf of Ashley and I in this podcast
want to send send something out to all of you.
We want to have fun here, we want to be entertained.
We want to talk about exciting new things going on
a Bachelor Nation and in the world of pop culture

(01:21:57):
and in the world of Ashley and I. But we
also are not naive to the fact that there are
people truly, truly, truly hurting and like super people, really
confused just like Anna, and depressed and feeling isolated and alone,
and so all to all of you, I just know
one thing, the one truth is actually and I want
to share with you, is that you're not alone. Two

(01:22:17):
is that we're doing this podcast to help you feel
like the routine that you got used to in your
normal week is still available to you because we won't
be stopping just because of the COVID nineteen virus. We're
gonna be doing this from the comforts of our own homes.
And Third, if you need help, please listen to this
if you need help, and and I I will be

(01:22:39):
honest with you. I just started going back to counseling
here recently myself and therapy, uh, to work through some
some stuff that I need to work through. If you
need help mentally, emotionally, spiritually, reach out to somebody. If
it's not the podcast, which I get it there, we can't.
We are not a counseling podcast. Your podcast to be
your friend. Just reach out to an able to reach

(01:23:00):
out to a love when reach out to somebody and
just tell them if it's anything I need help. I
feel alone because here's the truth. We're all human. We're
all in this together. It's affected all of us. Um.
But I believe that love always conquers any type of
fear and any type of confusion. And I know humans
love to love others, So go reach out for love.

(01:23:22):
With that. Hey, uh, this is an exciting podcast for me.
I am now engaged to the love of my life
and with that, I've been been I've been as Follow
the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on Ihart Radio,
or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Hosts And Creators

Ben Higgins

Ashley Iaconetti

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